Conventionally the land transport of newly manufactured vehicles, such as passenger cars, vans, and small trucks, is carried out using an open framework truck trailer having a series of ramps upon which the vehicles are secured. The height and slope of the ramps are adjusted through the use of hydraulic cylinders in order to load the trailer by driving vehicles over the ramps, and to nest them together when stored on the trailer.
An example of one such conventional trailer is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,106,805 to Harold issued Aug. 15, 1978. Due to differences in the profiles of vehicles, trailers rapidly become obsolete since in practice a trailer is limited in capacity to a narrow range of vehicles which may be accommodated. A trailer is often limited to hauling the vehicles of one manufacturer only. Even of that single manufacturer's products, to accommodate vans and cars a different trailer configuration must be used.
In loading and unloading the trailers, a high degree of skill is required in properly positioning the ramps, and in driving the vehicles within the very confined space of the trailer's interior. Damage to vehicles is common, resulting in cost increases and delays in delivery. The operator may be injured by falling from the trailer exiting an automobile parked at a raised elevation or climbing on the trailer framework. Injury is also caused by manually lifting the ramps and tying down vehicles in awkward locations.
A distinct disadvantage of such trailers is that after vehicles have been unloaded, the trailer must generally return empty since it is ill suited to transport any cargo other than vehicles.
A significant disadvantage to conventional truck trailers is the exposure of loaded vehicles to vandalism or accidental damage from rocks and debris thrown from the road surface by moving traffic. Conventional trailers cannot be clad with a protective outer sheeting or screen since the operator would be prevented from entering and exiting the loaded vehicle by such sheeting.
In transporting vehicles by rail, vehicles must also be driven on and off rail cars within confined spaces, and the vehicles are secured on horizontal fixed platforms which do not allow for nesting of the vehicles. As a result, there is a large portion of unused space within rail cars. U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,965,525 to Roscher et al, Jul. 3, 1934, and 2,204,034 to Cooper et al, Jun. 11, 1940, propose nesting of vehicles in rail cars by means of pivotable sloping ramps. However, neither design appears to be currently in commercial use.
The advantages inherent in use of intermodal cargo containers, such as reduced handling costs, pilferage, damage and overall transmit time, have been incorporated into a vehicular transport container proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,668 to Larsen et al issued Jul. 26, 1988, and in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,797,049 and 4,963,067 respectively issued Jan. 10, 1989 and Oct. 16, 1990 to Gearin et al.
The use of containers to ship vehicles would significantly improve the timing, security and costs of shipping compared to current methods which require frequent repositioning of vehicles between rail, sea, and land transport modes. Inserting vehicles into containers at the manufacturing plant and shipping to a dealer continuously supported on and/or contained in a prospective shipping pallet or container would reduce costs as proven in respect of other cargo, and would eliminate much of the damage to and soiling of new vehicles presently experienced. To date however no such method has found commercial acceptance.
The development of conventional trailers has reached a complexity where all vehicle supporting ramps move up and down, and may extend and retract, through a limited range and require the provision of complex and costly system of permanently trailer-mounted hydraulic rams for each ramp. In practical terms the cost, complexity of fabrication, difficulty of maintenance and operation have done nothing to address the basic limitations of such trailers.
Conventional auto-transport highway semi-trailers also retain the costly limitation of being unsuitable for transporting any cargo but vehicles. Adaptability to transport different vehicle types and sizes remains limited.